I am one of the biggest Taylor Swift fans there is, I know her three previous albums word for word and I've saw her live in concert twice now. However, this album did not stand out to me like her albums Fearless and Speak Now did with their beautiful lyrics and exciting production although the songs that I do listen to the most are probably Red, Sad Beautiful Tragic and Begin Again. I wasI am one of the biggest Taylor Swift fans there is, I know her three previous albums word for word and I've saw her live in concert twice now. However, this album did not stand out to me like her albums Fearless and Speak Now did with their beautiful lyrics and exciting production although the songs that I do listen to the most are probably Red, Sad Beautiful Tragic and Begin Again. I was really disappointed how Taylor's clever songwriting did not shine through and left me with sounds that I had heard before that were simply boring and lacklustre. Maybe there are only so many breakups and boyfriends a person can listen to after a while.…Expand

The song writing has taken a turn for the predictable. Musically, she's as diverse as ever, but her lyrics are her anchor this time around. We won't get into how shallow her work has become since majority of her fan base is only concerned with how many sales she can get this time around. The music itself fails to meet expectations.

I was a huge fan of Taylor Swift's first three albums. I thought she was an incredibly talented young kid on her first album, and with the releases of her second and third albums, I was convinced she was turning into a genuinely great artist. I still think she can be. She has released some beautiful songs. However, with this new album, she has taken the naive perception people have of herI was a huge fan of Taylor Swift's first three albums. I thought she was an incredibly talented young kid on her first album, and with the releases of her second and third albums, I was convinced she was turning into a genuinely great artist. I still think she can be. She has released some beautiful songs. However, with this new album, she has taken the naive perception people have of her music and her lyrics, and completely gave into that. This album seems to have been made just to make money. The songs seem to have mostly been chosen due to their commercial appeal, while I thought her first three albums demonstrated genuine artistry. Not one of these songs is emotionally powerful, thought provoking, or musically interesting, all of which I could have said about her first three albums. Even the help of hugely talented artists such as Lori McKenna, Mark Foster, and Ed Sheeran didn't really shine through. There were some cute songs on here, but I'd say the only real highlights are The Last Time, featuring Gary Lightbody, and Sad Beautiful Tragic. Nothing else is worth mentioning, but the album overall is cute, and entertaining in the moment. It caters right to the teen and pre-teen female audience, where I felt her other albums catered to them, as well as adults who genuinely like real musicianship and artistry. That was severely lacking here.…Expand

I'm pretty disappointed about this album. It contains a lot of tracks which are similar, boring and meaningless. I was expecting more of a country style then pop which would make this album stand out. I always valued her ability to write songs but here the lyrics don't shine. There are few songs that actually stand out, like: '' Sad Beautiful Tragic '', which shows how talented this girlI'm pretty disappointed about this album. It contains a lot of tracks which are similar, boring and meaningless. I was expecting more of a country style then pop which would make this album stand out. I always valued her ability to write songs but here the lyrics don't shine. There are few songs that actually stand out, like: '' Sad Beautiful Tragic '', which shows how talented this girl is. Overall '' Red '', is weak and typical which would be liked by younger generation. It's an overdone album which is a shame because Swift is capable of something much greater than this.…Collapse

The fourth album by American singer Taylor Swift, Red is a blend of country-pop (even very very pop) and teen-love-pop. it is
very good when she made her country, but less good when it makes its pop-candy. Except I Knew Your Trouble., Pop songs are very commonplace, they are not original and they could not be sung anyone. Speaking of I Knew Your Trouble., It is an interesting piece andThe fourth album by American singer Taylor Swift, Red is a blend of country-pop (even very very pop) and teen-love-pop. it is
very good when she made her country, but less good when it makes its pop-candy. Except I Knew Your Trouble., Pop songs are very commonplace, they are not original and they could not be sung anyone. Speaking of I Knew Your Trouble., It is an interesting piece and perhaps the best on the album, because of its electro, pop-rock energy and especially because of dubstep, there are d other interesting album, but they do not accotent this song. But overall the album is as good as Speak Now, but better than Fearless, but I did not say this is the worst album of 2012, but probably not in the top 10. But ultimately, it's your choice to take or not!…Expand

To thousands of screaming teenage girls–and a fair share of seedy men–Taylor Swift is a hero. They want to be her. They hate the Harry Styleses/Connor Kennedys/ Taylor Lautners/ John Mayers of the world. Personally, I don’t see it. I mean, I’d definitely try to chat her up if I saw her in a ba, but to me her music represents the relentless homogenization of the pop charts. Just because aTo thousands of screaming teenage girls–and a fair share of seedy men–Taylor Swift is a hero. They want to be her. They hate the Harry Styleses/Connor Kennedys/ Taylor Lautners/ John Mayers of the world. Personally, I don’t see it. I mean, I’d definitely try to chat her up if I saw her in a ba, but to me her music represents the relentless homogenization of the pop charts. Just because a song has a few gently strummed guitars and a female singer doesn’t mean that country music’s finally breaking into the pop charts: people who claim that Taylor represents this should, as Ron Burgundy says, go back to their home on whore island.

It was with a heavy heart, then, that I pressed ‘play’ on Taylor’s latest album, Red. The cover of Red sees Taylor moodily staring at the ground, half her face cast ominously in shadow. This shows that Taylor’s not gonna sing about stupid stuff like “short shorts” and/or “tee shirts” anymore–she’s got some serious, deep to say. The hat she’s wearing shows how country she is. Her red lips match the album cover. She has a new fringe now, too, because she’s not a girl–she’s a woman. The album’s title is written in the same font of the Home Brand jam (and bread and tomato sauce and everything else) that’s in our flat fridge. Rest assured–when the music starts playing, you’ll instantly forget about the cover. You’ll forget about everything. You’ll be transported to a world where anything is possible…even making a totally average album and having it sell millions of copies.

This is the truth: Red isn’t a great album. It isn’t even a good album. It’s that worst of things: a totally mediocre piece of work. When I write an essay I think is good, I’ll be stoked for a while. When I write an essay that’s shockingly, laughably bad, I’m perversely proud that anyone who’s been through 13 years of schooling can produce that level of crap. But (and we all know this feeling) when an essay is totally average, completely middle-of-the-road, not finished in the seconds before it was due but rather abandoned a couple of hours after midnight, you feel totally terrible about yourself. Taylor Swift should feel totally terrible about herself, because Red is totally average. It’s so average that it doesn’t deserve a track-by-track review, because such a review would be average.

The first track, State of Grace, thunders in with a drumbeat that the record company thought was ‘edgy’–loud and fast. It quickly descends into elevator music only interrupted by a chorus that Coldplay would recognise as open plagiarism. Don’t listen to it.
The title track, ‘Red,’ has banjos in it. I’m guessing it’s her way of tipping her massive HEY I’M FROM NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE hat to Mumford and Sons. She talks about how a breakup was as devastating as “driving a Maserati down a dead end street.” Yes Taylor, because all of your 12-year-old fans have Maseratis (and drivers licences). Don’t listen to it.
All Too Well has the lyric “You keep my old scarf/ from the very 1st week/ ‘cos it reminds you of innocence/ and smells like me.” It’s a stupid line. It’s like she doesn’t know how to write songs. It made me really angry to listen to. Don’t leave your lying around at other people’s houses, Taylor. Your untidiness is probably why you’re always breaking up with boys.

It’s not all bad, though. The songs “I Knew You Were Trouble” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” are brilliant. This isn’t me being a dick: I genuinely think they’re great songs. “I Knew You Were Trouble” has a drop. It could be played in a dubstep club. Also, there’s a hilarious version of it on YouTube where goats sing the chorus. Please watch it. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is similarly brilliant: the chorus stays in your head for as long as it takes Taylor to comb her new fringe (which is probably ages because her massive hat messes it up heaps).

All in all, I can see why people look up to Taylor Swift as a hero. She sells millions of albums without showing off her boobs at every opportunity. She doesn’t try and appeal to the average filthy teenagers: her music is aimed squarely at ‘wholesome’ listeners, a market which is diminishing pretty rapidly. She always seems polite; she’s never snapped looking wasted or naked. She should definitely be commended for this, but it cannot make up for the fact that this album is a totally average one.…Expand

You aren't false with listening to Swift's latest release, that shows more aspects of her. I actually like her voice and she is able to write good songs. It's nothing big and a duration of more than an hour lets it seem too long. Regardless, there are some quite good songs on Red: Red, I Knew You Were Trouble., I Almost Do, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together or The Last Time. HerYou aren't false with listening to Swift's latest release, that shows more aspects of her. I actually like her voice and she is able to write good songs. It's nothing big and a duration of more than an hour lets it seem too long. Regardless, there are some quite good songs on Red: Red, I Knew You Were Trouble., I Almost Do, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together or The Last Time. Her country side got to an lesser extent and her pop side isn't always good. I, for my part, enjoyed this album and I like her style. She is cute, she sings meaningful songs and has a pretty good voice.…Expand

Hearing Taylor Swift sing makes you remember these things, how you can wax poetic one day about the efficacy of love to change lives permanently for the better, and the next rail about how love leads only to pain and heartache.